Field Trip #2 Vienna/Venice

                  Dobry Den! My blog this week will be about our groups second field trip to Vienna, Austria and Venice, Italy.

                  On Tuesday, April 10, our study abroad group departed on our journey to Vienna, Austria. Vienna was the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire which controlled almost all of central Europe from 1867 until 1918. It was also the capital of the Habsburg dynasty for many centuries before that. During the same time, the city acted as a large cultural center for music and art. Prior to all of this it was also a city of the Roman Empire. This all became very apparent when we entered the city. The first thing we did as a group was walk to Maria-Theresien-Platz. This is a prominent square surrounded by museums, and it also holds a beautiful monument of Maria Theresa. The museums on each side of the monuments were a museum of natural history and a fine arts museum. We were told that we would have a chance to pick which one we would want to visit the next day.

Monument of Maria Theresa

                  After this we walked to the Hofburg Imperial Palace. This is a large palace which was home to the rulers of the Habsburg dynasty since the 13^th century. Today it acts as the residence and workplace of the president of Austria.

 Hofburg Imperial Palace

                  After running into some ancient Roman ruins we moved to our next location. This place was St. Stephen’s Cathedral. This cathedral is the seat to the Archbishop of Austria. It began construction in 1137 because there were not enough churches in Vienna. It did not finish its final stages until 1511 when the construction of a second tower was ceased. In 1945, civilians lit fire to nearby shops when Soviet Army troops entered the city. Winds carried the flames and lit the cathedral but it was only damaged and was finally fully reopened in 1950. This cathedral really was a beautiful sight just walking up and seeing the pattern on the roof. Our group then went into the church. Our instructor told us more about the history of the building we were standing in, and he was pointing out certain things along the way.

St. Stephen's Basilica

                  Once we were all done inside the church we were set free to walk around the city on our own. A few friends and I decided to use this time to shop for souvenirs and grab a bite to eat. After shopping, we walked around some more to see the city lit up at night. We visited a few of the places we saw during the day as well as a few more.

                   The next day was our chance to visit a few museums. The first museum was the Museum of Habsburg Emperors’ treasure. This was a museum of religious and secular treasure that was collected by Austrian Emperors over the last 1,000 years. Here are a few images of items that I saw in the museum.

Crown of the Austrian Empire

The Imperial Cross

                  Next we took a trip back to the monument of Maria Theresa to decide which museum we wanted to see that day. I chose the fine arts museum because I was told it held a lot of ancient artifacts from around the world. Inside I found items from ancient Egypt as well as items from the Greek and Roman Empire. Most of these were taken by the Habsburgs throughout the centuries. Inside this museum, there were also paintings done by artists from all over Europe.

Painting of St. Micheal

                  After we left the museum we were done for the day. I used this time to walk around and look at a few more churches around the city. After seeing these beautiful churches, I decided to call it a day because we had to get up early to leave for Venice.

                  So it’s Thursday, April 12^th. I wake up and pack up all of my stuff I had purchased in Vienna. I am walking down the stairs where I found my fellow student Breanna sitting on the ground being attended to by a few other students. Beings that it was seven in the morning and I had my hands full of luggage, I just kept walking downstairs. I know. I’m a terrible person, but in my defense, I was tired and I did not want to be in the way. I later found out that she had fallen down the stairs and hurt her ankle pretty bad. We then spent the next couple of hours sitting on the bus while we waited to find out what the results of the injury were. After three hours of sitting on a bus we find out that it was only a sprain and we can finally begin our trip to Venice.

                  After driving through the Alps for what seemed like an entire day, we finally arrived in Venice. We arrived late that day because of our morning fiasco so we didn’t have time to do anything that was planned. After checking into our hostel, we all split up to find a place to eat. I enjoyed some pizza and gelato and then went to bed.

Venice!

                  I was very excited to be in Venice because it is always one of the cities brought up when people from the United States talk about places to see in Europe. It is the city that looks like it was literally built on water. People drive boats instead of cars. It truly is one of a kind. To top it off, the history of the city and its culture is very fascinating, and I could not wait to go out and see this famous place.

                  The next day we all got up early to go to St. Mark’s square which is the most famous place in Venice. It is the front door to the famous Basilica of St. Mark. This Basilica is a Byzantine style church, but its construction is hard to date because it is recorded as being consecrated a few different times. The entire upper interior is covered in bright Mosaics and the floor made of marble. Sadly, we were not allowed to take photos inside.

St. Mark's Basilica

 After a quick walk through St. Mark’s, we went into a museum which was literally right next to the Basilica. This was Doge’s Palace. It is a palace that was home to the Doge of Venice and other noblemen since 14^th century. The palace is now a place to walk through and see things like the prison and the armory, as well as the duke’s rooms which were covered in beautiful paintings. It was great to have our instructor Jan with us because he knows so much about Venetian history. He told us things from actual history as well as legends from those times.

Armor of King Henry IV of France

After touring the palace, we walked through Venice to another church. A minor basilica called Santi Giovanni e Paolo. This is one of the largest churches of the city and is the church which housed the funerals of the Doge’s of Venice since the 15^th century. After walking through this church, we had the rest of our time in Venice to ourselves. For the rest of that day, we ate some Italian food, rode in a gondola and shopped for some souvenirs. The rest of that night, we all spent some time hanging out in the courtyard of the hostel drinking Italian wine. It was the best way to spend a night in Venice.

Santi Giovanni e Paolo

The next day we were all allowed to do whatever we wanted. A large group of us went to the islands of Murano which is where a lot of the famous Venetian glass is made. On these islands, we walked through a lot of glass shops and even had the opportunity to watch a glassmaker use the same centuries old techniques that made it the top glass making city in all of Europe.

Skilled Glassmaker from Murano

After coming back to the main islands a smaller group of us headed toward the world’s first ghetto. It is a Jewish area which is where Jews were segregated into living. The word ghetto comes from this place. the Venetian getto which means foundry. It was not until the late 1800s that the term was used for a crowded urban area for minority groups. It was quite an experience to see such a place after learning so much about the holocaust and seeing other Jewish ghettos.

Entrance to the Jewish Ghetto

After seeing the world’s first ghetto, my time in Venice had come to an end. I love learning about so much history and actually being where it happened. This has been one of my best experiences, and I am so excited to see what is still in store. After Venice, I left for the airport for spring break which you will learn about in a later blog. Na Shledanou!

Academic Life

               Dobry den. For my blog this week, I will be talking about my Academic Life here in Olomouc. In it, I will be talking about the university I’m attending and the classes I’m taking. I will also point out a few similarities and differences between Palacky and the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

                The university I am attending in Olomouc is called Palacky (the 'c' makes a ts sound) University. It is a university that was founded by Jesuits in the 16^th century. It is the oldest university in Moravia and the second oldest university in the Czech Republic. This university has survived the thirty years’ war, the Nazi occupation during World War 2, and the Soviet occupation during the cold war. Today, Palacky University is the largest employer in the city of Olomouc. The university has more than 20,000 students spread across its 8 faculties. These 8 faculties are the faculty of theology, faculty of medicine and dentistry, faculty of arts, faculty of science, faculty of education, faculty of physical culture, faculty of law, and the faculty of health sciences.

Courtyard in the middle of the library of Palacky University

                 So, what is it like attending this University? The first of our classes that I’ll talk about is a Czech language course. This is not a language course that is designed for me to be fluent in Czech by the time I leave. Instead, it is a class designed to help make our stay in this country more pleasant. No one likes dealing with the tourist that keeps saying the same thing a hundred times over while slowly getting louder as if it helps the locals understand more. I would know. Needless to say, Czech is a very tough language to learn, but this class has helped me out immensely. I am learning how to order food as well as words that I should know for public transportation. It has been a lot of fun ordering food and seeing the servers smile while we try to say everything correctly. It usually ends with them laughing at us but knowing what we were trying to say. I’m excited to learn enough to have a basic conversation with a local.

                  The other classes that we take all have to do with the history and culture of the Czech Republic and the rest of Central Eastern Europe. For these classes, we have a lecturer, that is specialized on a specific point in time or a specific culture, come in and give us a one-and-a-half-hour broad lecture over a subject that usually takes an entire semester to learn about. I thoroughly enjoy these lectures because we always get a different lecturer with a different specialty. While I would love to go more in depth, it’s still exciting because every one gets to teach about something they are so obviously passionate about. It is also interesting when a few classes are connected in a few ways and seeing the differences and similarities between these two classes. One of the periods in time that we learn a lot about is the second world war. These are some of my favorite classes because I have never learned about a lot of what I have been told these past few weeks. Back in the United States, it is common to learn about Hitler and the Holocaust, but here, I learn so much more about the rest of the Nazi Regime and how it affected Central Europe. Along with World War II, we are learning about medieval central Europe, the beginning and end of the state of Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union. We are in the heart of Europe, and it is crazy learning about this history in class and then walking around where it happened outside of class.

Picture of Jan and Martin talking to us our first day of class

Picture taken by Dr. Doug Biggs

                  Studying abroad is so much fun that sometimes you forget that you are actually studying. This experience is just so different from what I am used to at Kearney. In Kearney, you have the same class schedule with the same professors every week. The exams, papers, and projects all seem to happen around the same time each semester as well. For me, this is both a positive and a negative. While over here it is nice to do something different every day, I do miss the structured life of a student in Kearney sometimes. Another thing I miss about Kearney is that everything is on campus. Palacky is a university that is almost scattered across the city of Olomouc. In Kearney, it is very easy to find the library, the student union and the administration building because they are all on campus and clearly labeled. Here, you really need to know where your going or ask for directions and a description of what the outside of the building looks like. These are only some of the many differences between the two universities. However, class life is pretty much the same. Lectures, homework, exams are still a part of the classes here at Palacky. Another similarity is that this university has dorms, athletics, student organizations and all of the other typical university accommodations.

Picture of us before our first day of class
Picture taken by Dr. Doug Biggs

So let’s wrap this up. Palacky is a very historic university in a very historic region and it is a lot of fun learning about history here. Yeah. History! Also, Czech language is hard but it really does help and it feels great when I say something right. I just have to hope that everyone is laughing with me and not at me. I’m still loving it here and it looks like it’s just going to get better. Děkuji (thank you)! Na Shledanou!